Pokemon TCG Pocket Details Big Changes to Trading (and When to Expect Them)

The trading feature in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket stinks, and fans have hated it since it was added earlier this year. Thankfully, the game’s developers have heard the frustrations of players and have announced some big changes that are on the way. Players will now be able to create Wishlists for up to 20 cards that they’re looking to obtain, and three can be displayed on the player’s profile. However, the current trade restrictions will remain in place, which means players won’t be able to trade cards that have a rarity of two stars or higher.

As part of the changes, the controversial Trade Tokens are being removed from the game. Instead, players will now use Shinedust for trades. Players will also receive double the amount of Shinedust when they get a card that is already registered in that player’s Card Dex. So what happens to all those Trade Tokens that players have been banking? Players can exchange them once these changes take effect. Players will be able to exchange one Trade Token for one Pack Hourglass, for a total of 60 possible exchanges. Trade Tokens can also be exchanged for Shinedust, which has no cap. One Trade Token will be equal to 10 Shinedust, and players can exchange batches for increments of Shinedust x10, Shinedust x100, and Shinedust x1,000.

Pokemon TCG Pocket players won’t have to wait long for these changes to roll out in the game; this update will roll out on Tuesday, July 29th at 11 p.m. PT. Leading up to the update, trades will be disabled in the game starting on Thursday, July 24th, at that same time. Once the update has been completed on July 29th, players will no longer be able to exchange cards that they have for Trade Tokens. Anyone planning to pump up the current amount of Trade Tokens they have ahead of the changes will want to keep that date in mind.

Today’s announcement was not a complete surprise for Pokemon TCG Pocket players; in fact, many of these details leaked last month, right down to the launch date. Of course, not everyone pays attention to leaks, and reception to today’s announcement has been largely positive. Players still want to see the game offer options for trading cards of a higher rarity, including the option to get promo cards they might have missed. It’s possible we could see DeNa expand on trading in the future, especially if there’s enough demand. For now though, fans will have to settle for these steps forward.

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As someone that largely ignored trading in Pokemon TCG Pocket due to the cumbersome requirements, I find this all very welcome. Adding a wishlist feature alone should make all of this a lot more enjoyable, and make it easier to get the cards that you’re looking for without having to go through a whole extra process outside of the app. Hopefully the developers will continue to refine trading, offering more freedom to players.

How do you feel about these changes to Pokemon TCG Pocket? Will you be taking advantage of the new wishlist feature? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!